Folium: Mont Saint-Michel from Space via BoingBoing

You’ve seen it on postcards and travel shows, during high tide and low. Mont Saint-Michel is one of the great iconic man-made structures of the world. Built, quite literally, on the northern coastline of France the monastery and the surrounding city below is only accessible during low tides. When the tides go out, the main road and parking lots are revealed and the city springs to life. However, when the tide comes in, the city becomes a natural fortress. But, this article isn’t about the building…

This photo was taken from a NASA high-resolution satellite, tasked with the mission to photograph the wonders of the world with the best technology available in orbit. 100 years ago this wonder was only viewable from the sea below, then from hot air balloon, airplanes, and now from our atmosphere. Perspective is a powerful thing, and being able to see these wonders from space is a testament to technology, and the desire to bring the world to us. Pictures like these excite and inspire people to travel around the world, but they also bring the world back to us.

“A birds-eye view of France‘s Mont Saint-Michel comes courtesy of the Pléiades satellite, which snapped the island on May 3.”

“Until the end of the 19th century, no bridge spanned the expanse between Mont-Saint-Michel and the mainland, so the tiny islet was accessible only at low tide.”

“The image, recently released by the European Space Agency, shows where water meets mud flats, with multiple channels interwoven into the mud.”

“The Pléiades project will soon comprise two separate satellites: the veteran Pléiades 1A, launched in December 2011, and its identical twin Pléiades 1B, slated for launch later this year.”

Unlike some purists, I think “armchair” travel is a perfectly valid form of expanding your horizons. If you can’t go see the world, let’s bring the world to us. “Shrinking” our world through the power of technology benefits us all! Go surf the world!

Note how this photo, taken by plane from above, is now comparable quality to the satellite photos! Eyes in space!

Folium: Mont Saint-Michel from Plane via Wikimedia Commons

Where are your favorite places to digitally explore the world? Let us know in the comments below!